The 16th Man

THE fate of Kerry’s once promising season could now hang on a single decision from Croke Park’s secretive Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC).

Following their performances against Cork in the early rounds of the Munster Championship, the Kingdom were hot favourites to retain their All-Ireland crown.

They displayed once again that they were the best football team in the country and that it would be something out of the ordinary to stop them.

Well, now that something out of the ordinary appears to be happening.

First they lost current Footballer of the Year Paul Galvin to an eight-week suspension that rules him out of manager Jack O’Connor’s plans until after the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

And now they face the prospect of seeing Tomas O Se joining him in the stands in Croke Park on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Tomas mixed the brilliant with the inexplicable in last Sunday’s thrilling three-point Munster final win over Limerick.

He showed with his two points galloping forward from wingback why he was a predecessor of Galvin’s as a Footballer of the Year.

But he also displayed a cranky side when he got involved in a number of incidents, none of which were punished by referee Pat Fox.

Once the Sunday Game highlighted these flash-points, particularly an off-the-ball elbow to a Limerick player, it became almost inevitable that the CCCC will look into the matter.

If, as expected, they do, this could leave O Se facing a four-week ban and the prospect of missing out on the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Having Tomas and Galvin suspended would leave Kerry without two of their top five footballers and their two best ball winners on the ground. With the Kingdom midfield misfiring so badly, they need this type of player to get onto the all-important breaks.

From All-Ireland favourites, the Kingdom would turn into something altogether more vulnerable over that one weekend.

They have to wait another three weeks before they find out who they play in the quarter-finals, but the line-up is potentially gruesome for O’Connor and his team.

Last year they were lucky with the draw they got in their own backdoor odyssey, with three Division 4 outfits, followed by a badly mis-firing Dublin side once they got to Croke Park.

If their luck holds they could find themselves up against someone like Roscommon or even Offaly, Waterford or another lower tier team.

But the chances are they’re more likely to come across Cork, Monaghan or Tyrone – not the sort of opposition they’d want with two top performers out of action.